SSBR High School Preview: Rejoice Christian Eagles

The calendar has turned to the a new year and that means the OSSAA high school baseball season will be here soon. Classes A1, A2, and B officially get started February 23 while the rest of the classes begin March 2.

Up until that the beginning of the season, SSBR will be providing previews of as many teams as we can. Recently, SSBR sent out questionnaires to the high school coaches across the state of Oklahoma asking for their top returning players, top newcomers, overall strengths/weaknesses, and their overall assessment where their respective programs are coming into the 2026 season.

What you have below are the responses to those questions in the words of the coaches themselves.

Today’s team: Rejoice Christian Eagles

Classification: 3A

2025 Spring Results: 19-17

Head Coach: Preston Whitten

Head coaching experience: 2 years (all at Rejoice)

Top Returners

Caleb Hall – Sr. (Signed to Kansas Wesleyan), starting 2B the past 2 years. Lock down defender at 2B and a very tough out at the plate, struck out a total of 6 times last season and consistently gets on base or gets a job done. He is a great asset and leader to our team.
Micah Walker – Sr. (Uncommitted), LHP who has been a top pitcher on the staff since sophomore year. He will lead the staff this year coming off of two seasons in a row with a ERA under 4 that past two seasons and over 60 strikeouts both seasons. He also had a breakout year at the plate his junior year hitting .452 on the season. We will rely on him to come up big for us in big moments this season.
Kai Buntin – Sr. (Uncommitted), RHH who works as a utility in the field, his biggest contribution is his bat. He is a very tough out at the plate, he struck out only 4 times last year while walking 12 times, and led the team in HBP with 18. While his batting average was solid at .351, he provided the juice for us at the plate raking in 14 2b’s, and 1 HR last season while driving in a team leading 31 RBI’s. We will rely on him to be a key piece in the middle of our lineup.
Other seniors like Callen Duncan and Walker Sanders make this team seasoned with experience. Both will be 3 year every day starters as well and have contributed to our overall success as a team, and we expect them to help carry the load on the upcoming season.

Top Newcomers

Kasen Buntin – Fr. (Uncommitted), younger brother of Kai Buntin, Kasen will be the everyday SS as a freshman, and if anyone is prepared for it it’s him. He brings a spark to our team not just with his ability and athleticism, but with his joy and energy he brings every day. Like his brother, his bat to ball skills are advanced for his age, and his ability at SS will make our defense in the infield solid all around. Look to see his name popping up a lot over the next few years.
Owen Hall – Fr. (Uncommitted), another brother on the team, younger brother to Caleb Hall, Owen will also be an early contributor to the lineup. Just over the past several months his body has matured, his work ethic and passion for getting better will make him another future high-level player. He will primarily play INF and pitch, but has the ability to play outfield. His pitch ability on the mound with more time and refinement, he will likely be a top pitcher on the staff in the near future, as well as a powerful bat in the lineup. We are confident he will be a key part to our success as a team this season.
Valen Ward – Sr. (Uncommitted), transfer RHP, we expect Valen to provide a lot of quality innings on the mound this season and give us the depth we very much need this season. He will likely have mixed roles between starting and relieving. His pitching arsenal, when he’s at his best, could be the big piece needed to help us make a deep playoff run.

Overall Team Strengths

Hitting, Starting Pitching, Experience

Overall Team Needs to Work On

Pitching Depth/Relief Pitching, Defense, (Staying healthy, some players currently injured)

Outlook

This is my third year in the program. Respectively, the past 3 years (first year was before I got to Rejoice), our win totals have been: Year 1 – 10 Wins, Year 2 – 12 Wins, Year 3: 19 Wins.

We have seen the fruit of our labor with hard work and discipline, and great effort and selflessness from our team. Although a couple of key pieces are currently injured, both are scheduled to be back and healthy by at least mid-season. With a core group of seniors leading the way, we expect to once again increase our win total, and Lord willing have a historic playoff run and show the state we are ready to compete at a high level.

Schedule

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